‘Females Don’t Need to be Reluctant’: Employing Design Thinking to Harness Creative Confidence and Interest in STEAM
Abstract
There is great gender gap in mathematics and science among countries around the world, but the gender gap is one of the largest in Japan. In order to address this issue, we evaluated an educational intervention to empower the next generation of female youths by employing design thinking to ignite their interests in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) fields. In this article, we explain the rationale for the intervention, describe the unique three‐day curriculum employing design thinking, and share the results from the intervention. There are four key findings of our study. After participating in the workshop, the middle school female students showed greater interest in STEAM fields, demonstrated increased levels of creative confidence, cultivated a greater sense of empathy for others, and exhibited greater appreciation for collaboration. This study highlights the possibilities and opportunities for using design thinking to encourage female youths to become more interested in STEAM fields.
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DT plays a crucial role in modernizing STEM curricula and helping to inspire more female students to pursue STEM careers.
“Additionally, DT plays a crucial role in modernizing STEM curricula, helping to inspire more female students to pursue STEM careers, particularly in gendered societies where female representation is lower (Henriksen et al., 2017;Kijima & Sun, 2020).”
From A meta-analysis to explore the role of design thinking in enhancing creativity as learning outcomes in STEM education (2026) · cites this paper as Kijima & Sun, 2020
The effectiveness of group size in fostering creativity and the design mindset may depend more on group composition, specifically whether it is a designer group, than on group size.
“Research indicates that the effectiveness of group size in fostering creativity and the design mindset may depend more on the composition of the group, specifically whether it is a designer group or not rather than its size (Kijima & Sun, 2020).”
From A meta-analysis to explore the role of design thinking in enhancing creativity as learning outcomes in STEM education (2026) · cites this paper as Kijima & Sun, 2020
Short-term programs lasting within a week have the potential to inspire students by fostering a mindset to enhance their focus on creativity and innovation.
“Short-term programs lasting 'within a week' have the potential to inspire students by fostering a mindset to enhance their focus on creativity and innovation (Kijima & Sun, 2020, 2021;Mentzer, 2011).”
From A meta-analysis to explore the role of design thinking in enhancing creativity as learning outcomes in STEM education (2026) · cites this paper as Kijima & Sun, 2021
Short-term programs lasting within a week have the potential to inspire students by fostering a mindset to enhance their focus on creativity and innovation.
“Short-term programs lasting 'within a week' have the potential to inspire students by fostering a mindset to enhance their focus on creativity and innovation (Kijima & Sun, 2020, 2021;Mentzer, 2011).”
From A meta-analysis to explore the role of design thinking in enhancing creativity as learning outcomes in STEM education (2026) · cites this paper as Kijima & Sun, 2020
Cites
Social relationships and motivation in middle school: The role of parents, teachers, and peers.
Wentzel, K. R. (1998) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.90.2.202 · Cited by 1,828 · see citing works
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Muneer, S., Santhosh, M., Parangusan, H., & Bhadra, J. (2026) · International Journal of Technology and Design Education · doi:10.1007/s10798-025-10005-2 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kijima, R., & Sun, K. L.
- ORCID
- Kijima, Rie
- Venue
- International Journal of Art & Design Education
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2020-08-27
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 66-81
- ISSN
- 1476-8062 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-8070
- OpenAlex
- W3080104075
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 4.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Art & Design Education (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Career Development and Diversity
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Design Education and Practice
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender and Technology in Education
- Keywords
- design thinking, STEAM education, gender gap in science, female students, creative confidence, junior high school students, educational intervention, empathy, collaboration, Japan
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